Saturday on our "day off" the girls decided to have a "girls day" so naturally we had an improv "guys day." We went to the "Chicken Cowboy" and then went to the market on our way to a "soccer field." We got the soccer field which is completely dirt. One of the locals started playing Frisbee with us and a couple more joined in. One the side of the dirt soccer field there were a couple of locals sitting, watching and laughing at their friends who haven't honed in on their Frisbee throwing skills.

As we were throwing one of the locals got Brian's attention and took him over to his friend who was laying face down in the dirt. One guy, William, was trying to do CPR on his friend. They said that he had been having convulsions and had thrown up on himself. Tico (who had originally called us over) said that he thought it was either a heart attack or the he had "taken it to the limit."
In my head I was thinking, "this is it! We are going to heal the sick, we are going to going to be used to heal this man!" So we sat and prayed for Thomas. William had run to get the ambulance which still hadn't come despite us being in sight of the office. We got Thomas on his side and although his pulse was faint he was breathing normal. As we were waiting Tico was talking to us and we found out that he had grown up in the States, he fought in the Military, had his passport stolen. The more we talked to him we realized maybe HE was the reason we were there.
Home boy could talk, he told us how he couldn't just walk by someone who was dying and leave them there. He said he was called "The Good Samaritan." He told us how people in the community helped him out because he helped other people out. He was a "good person." He admitted that he didn't have his life together. He started to say things like God had him here for a reason, and that God had kept him alive for a reason. He was saying this while he was high and said that he wasn't allowed to be back in the states. We asked if he would like us to pray for him, he said "I never say no to God." Which I thought was kind of funny considering… Jaja
We each prayed for him and no lie as soon as we said amen Thomas, home boy on the ground, coughed and opened his eyes. He was no where close to being better and there was rain coming. We decided to send Brian and Eric back to the paramedics where they semi-stole a backboard and ran it to us while the paramedics caught up. We loaded Thomas onto the backboard and walked him over and loaded him in the ambulance in pouring rain.
Tico then asked if we would buy him and William some food since they had only had a piece of bread to eat since the morning. So we said of course and we headed towards the closest restaurant. In the restaurant we were able to tell Teicko all about God's love and his forgiveness. It was the craziest experience, I was able to speak from experiences in my own life and tell about the Lords faithfulness. As we all talked and shared he started to ask questions. We invited him to church in the Morning and gave us his word that he would be there. One of my favorite things he said while we were talking was "I'm strong (as he beat his chest), I've been shot 3 times (he pulled up his shirt and showed us his scars), I've been beat up; but my spirit is weak." It was crazy to see him start to get it. Hopefully he will carry through with his promise tomorrow and we can continue our friendship.
It's crazy to see how the Lord put Tico in our path. He was definitely reassuring and exciting to feel like I'm actually doing something! The Lord is good, when we are open he will reveal himself to us and reveal his good and perfect plan for our lives. And the cool thing is he works in his own ways and he own time. I may think I know what he is going to do or how he should do it, but at the end of the day he is going to do it how he is going to it, and it will be for his glory. We are so blessed that he would choose to use us!
He used a passed out man face down in the dirt to put us in the path of a man who needed something to live for. That was our "drunken curve ball". It's taken me a couple days to post this and since this Tico did come to church and he brought William and another friend. I sat next to him and was able to pray for him. He was so enveloped in the service he wouldn't take his eyes off the speaker. He only stopped to ask me if I understood what the preacher was saying. He told me that he was happy! Afterwards he went up to the pastor and asked how he could get involved in the church. I know I will probably be talking about Tico again soon. I have so much to learn from this man.
(Sorry I haven't posted any pictures I left my camera in LA…)
